Warning:  "serious" missive ahead -- skip to next message for
light-heartedness (or is that light-headedness?)

At 08:42 PM 8/24/1999 +0100, David West wrote:
>Personally, I'm really interested in exploring the philosophical issues
>relating to the preservation of building materials which fail.

David,

There may be some correlation between the preservation of failed building
materials and the preservation of failed buildings.  No one would ever
dismiss the idea of preserving Falling Water, for instance, despite the
perceived "failure" of its structural design -- it is preserved for its
architectural design and the idea behind the structural design, as much as
for its association with its "great" architect, FLW.

I think one way to deal with failed building materials is to preserve the
idea behind them, not necessarily preserve them in-situ.  The Pruitt-Igoe
housing complex in St. Louis was destroyed because it was considered a
failed design (don't get me started on my counter to this claim), but the
ideas behind it were preserved in writings, critiques, and in people's
memories.  Some of the ideas may have been transformed into "successful"
building projects, as well...

Failed materials, details, and buildings do not necessarily have to be
preserved for eternity in the traditional sense.  There's HABS/HAER-type
documentation that can occur, technical articles that can be written, oral
histories that can be collected... (just to name a few ways preservation
can occur)

Just some food for thought...

Barbara

(gotta stop reading those theory books...)